migblog

update: i just finished my round four of auditions for artists in resonance.

emotional investment: so much, it hurts.

i find out tonight.

wish me luck.

posted by Open Source Food @ 8:03 PM 0 comments

timeline.

5 pm. emotional investment: none.
i headed down to the music lounge in morrison hall for an audition with artists in resonance, expecting a handful of people. there were about forty. and i got scared, because i heard some people who were crazy good.

6.15 pm. emotional investment: very little.
my preliminary audition started all right -- there was some rhythm reading, sightreading, tonal memory exercises. and then i had my solo ("please" by the nylons), and then i fell apart. i was sure i had bombed it.

6.40 pm. emotional investment: very little.
giovanni, who also happened to be at the audition, and i emerge from the basement level of morrison hall and end up getting some dinner to go from tako sushi.

7 pm. emotional investment: some.
the callback list was posted, but someone ran off with it. so did i make it?

7.02 pm. emotional investment: some.
brant and rachel call me in for a callback. SWEET.

7.05 pm. emotional investment: more than some.
i get into practice room 51 in morrison hall and i get to meet the guys. i sing my solo one more time (i'm even told that the octet rehearsal was last semester -- were they trying to get rid of me, or was that a compliment?), and try some blending with them. i get to sing some wonderwall, and even freedom '90.

7.20 pm. emotional investment: a sizable amount.
i eat dinner at brh. sec's comm is making photo phone rosters.

8.15 pm. emotional investment: a sizable amount.
i find out as i walk back down to the lounge at morrison that the callback was only for eight people: five girls, and three guys. i was a lucky son of a bitch.

8.30 pm. emotional investment: a sizable amount plus.
the group comes out and cuts the callback eight to four: two guys, and two girls. they call my name.

8.35 pm. emotional investment: a sizable amount plus plus.
this time, with the whole group, the four of us sing our solos. after some quick reads, we try some more blending work with the group, and even try some solo work.

11 pm. emotional investment: lots.
the group tells us that they'll call us later for sure about final decisions ("we won't leave you hanging!"), taking "anywhere from one to three" of us. (mind you there's only four of us.) the four of us head home, anxious, and nervous.

1 am. emotional investment: a lot lot.
the guys call me and say instead that i have to sing with them one more time, at 6 pm the following day. (won't leave me hanging?) this time, though, they need me to sing bass.

11 am. emotional investment: too much.
i'm waiting. and i'm nervous.

god, i hope i get it.

posted by Open Source Food @ 10:55 AM 0 comments

miguel's handy five orthographic / grammar tips of today:

1. spell: belligerent. b-e-l-l-i-g-e-r-e-n-t. rastafarian. r-a-s-t-a-f-a-r-i-a-n. nefarious. n-e-f-a-r-i-o-u-s. (it's not worth it to know words and then spell them like shit, because, well, that's just dumb.)

2. the creation "your'e" does not exist. "your" and "you're" do, however, and are homophones which mean two distinct things; the former as a possessive marker and the latter a contraction of "you are" indicating being.

3. please be consistent with your capitalization. (i just don't.)

4. "i.e." does not stand for "in example" -- instead, it stands for latin id est, meaning "that is." use "i.e." to stand in for where you would otherwise say "in other words." along the same vein, "e.g." (latin exempli gratia; "for the sake of example") should be used exclusively for instances.

5. there's such a thing as using too much punctuation?!?!?!!?!?!!?!?!!!???!

posted by Open Source Food @ 3:11 PM 0 comments

the weekend, instead of marching in a heavy wool uniform in front of thousands of raiders fans, was spent with two days of free food, alcohol, and a drunken family in the claremont hotel.

more details later.

on a very funny side note, david's haircut makes him looks like he's eight. translation: horrible.

go bears!

posted by Open Source Food @ 10:56 AM 0 comments

a giant explosion woke me up.

from the tv, that is. i woke up at the glorious hour of around five in the morning to see that my television was still on, and i had in my hand a copy of lyle campbell's "historical linguistics: an introduction" turned to chapter three. i had only read up to the third page, and then i remembered dreaming about insane adventures.

i promptly turned my television off, and went back to bed. and then i started dreaming again.

there was the one where it was just me and my good buddy will rohrer, and we were going nuts rock climbing in a random place where there was desert on one side and the ocean on another. we were climbing up with ascenders, randomly rappelling down the rock face whenever we felt like it, taking in this magnificent view of a red canyon desert and a cool green sea.

will and i were talking, and all of a sudden he looked at me intently and said, "miguel, you're a horrible person." all i could do was laugh back, but will shook his head and said it again. "no, seriously, you're a horrible person."

i felt the rope snap and i didn't stop falling. and i couldn't help smiling as i saw the rock face get taller.

then there was the one with me and my good buddy jon, in a car, driving around london proper, smoking our cigarettes because we're so cool like that and getting lost but it was fine since we didn't care much for the time. we eventually started just walking around, car magically disappearing, despite the weather being tragically cloudy.

we were walking somewhere around oxford circus, and everything froze. time stopped, and i was the only one moving. the scene: jon was on the pedestrian walkway, mid-way through the street, and i was running as fast as i could to get him out of the way of that speeding truck.

when i had my arms around him, time moved again. and i couldn't stop smiling when we were flying a few yards feeling the force of the truck move through our bodies.

and then there was the one with me and my good buddy nate. we were shooting the shit like we always do in socal, somewhere down in fullerton, an orange-and-white bar space peppered with people wearing orange and white clothes, drinking orange and white things, exchanging pleasantries and dancing to the tunes of an orange-and-white clad dj in the corner spinning his orange-and-white records.

nate and i kept drinking our martinis (in orange martini glasses, of course), two olives, strikingly green in the otherwise duochromatic environment. everything was superb: i saw people i hadn't seen in a long time, i met paris hilton, and all the people who ever stole my heart were in a corner of the room, staring at me.

i wanted to melt. i wanted to get out of there as fast as i could.

then they all started to get up, one by one, edging toward our table. i was terrified.

i felt my heart explode, the blood running over all my other organs, filling me with an intense euphoria and fear. all i could do in the meantime was clutch my chest and smile big at those people whom i longed for secretly, at those people whom i've kissed, at those people i've dreamed of kissing. and in my mind i kissed them all, kissed them with all the love i had in my heart, now literally broken, yearning to breathe in that orange-and-white room of unrequited fantasy.

i felt myself die smiling big.

and it felt beautiful.

posted by Open Source Food @ 11:26 AM 0 comments

you know, at one point in time, i was actually looking forward to school starting.

three weeks in to this semester (approximately one-fifth of the way done), i'm finding myself growing wearier and wearier of all the other things concerned with sixteen units of class.

lecture's fine. i go to lecture.

section? yeah. there's that too. but i've glossed over two sections already, and i still don't feel bad, because i don't particularly care for that section anyway.

assuming i pass all my classes this semester, i'm well on my way to graduating from cal in my expected four years.

there's also this thing about not being in band for this past week and this week. i've found so much time in doing so much stuff, it's awesome. i've gone back to my roots (hardboiled) and am branching out to new things (squelch!). it's pretty cool. i'm having a lot of fun.

according to hiro, i can't "really be that berkeley." it's true. yesterday, the city of berkeley had its annual "how berkeley can you be?" parade, so i got rudely awakened by first of all, the rain; secondly, construction outside my house; thirdly, loud naked people denouncing cars; and fourthly, random ass people calling my cellphone at around noon.

i was ticked.

then again, i shouldn't have that many things to worry about.

phonez shit is going to be soooo tits.

posted by Open Source Food @ 1:56 PM 0 comments

to the newmen class of 2004:

congratulations on finishing your first game, a glorious defeat of the new mexico state university aggies, 41-14.

congratulations on completing the silent walk, and in accepting the charges we've all asked of you. (we know you'll do a great job.)

there's a sense of duty attached to being a cal bandsman, and you entering lot have just experienced firsthand what it means to serve the university, in remembering who you are and what you represent, in meeting and surpassing the standards set by your predecessors, in imparting the california spirit to others as you carry it with you always, and by performing to the best of your ability.

when i congratulated some of you during that cool night in memorial stadium, i could tell that you were moved, that something clicked and made sense and made your eyes light up and mist a little bit.

it's that exact feeling you get when you've just completed a good pregame, after rejoicing when you hear the click, after your heart beating so fast in anticipation after "sticks up," after you rush out of north tunnel to be almost blinded by the afternoon sun.

it's the exact same feeling you get when you take off your vest after your first game.

it's the exact same feeling you get when someone tells you, "good job, newman."

it's the exact same feeling you get when someone calls up a packet song and you know all the horn flashes.

you are cal bandsman. never be ashamed of that.

"what you have done today has linked you to generations past, and will link you in many years to come."

you are our future, newman class of 2004, you are our spirit, our hope, and our dreams.

as your recruiter, i am very proud to welcome you to the university of california band, its tradition, its excellence, and its legacy.

we welcome you with open arms.

posted by Open Source Food @ 1:55 PM 0 comments

the best line from this morning's game (california golden bears vs. air force academy falcons) on espn2:

"california just exploded all over air force's face."

it was sweet and glorious.

56-14, and goddamn, we're so hot right now.

to wake up on a saturday morning and go through a football game like a regular person -- oh, how that feels so good, to wear regular clothes on a gameday, to not eat char-grilled food at nine in the morning, to not sweat and have your legs be in pain as you stand on metal bleachers.

to instead snack as you go along, sit in a nice and comfortable couch in the company of good friends, cheer for the team, and of course, not have to worry about much else for the rest of the day, unless you're a bit of the studious type and do homework.

is this what being a regular student is like? not worrying about being late to rehearsal? not having to worry about getting heat exhaustion in a wool uniform? not waking up at six in the morning for an all day event on any given saturday? not stressing over where to go next and what to play now because i'm seated comfortably in the student section?

i have tasted the other side, and it tastes so good, as california explodes all over air force's face.

i bet i could do so much better in school if i weren't in band.

posted by Open Source Food @ 1:20 PM 0 comments

we've decided: partners are assholes.

it's some sort of breakthrough saying it out loud, but we've known that for quite some time now.

so to all of you with significant others, look at them, find the most irritating thing about them, and tell it to their face.

who knows, maybe they'll appreciate it.

and if they don't, then you've done yourself a service of keeping the lines of communication in your relationship "honest" and "open," right?

right?

posted by Open Source Food @ 9:20 PM 0 comments

first day(s) of classes and it hurts so good!

time for the evaluations of first impressions:

linguistics 110: introduction to phonetics and phonology, professor ian maddieson.
he's a weird one. he's british, but he's lived in america for thirty-some-odd years, and he's been on the ipa council since like ever. the class so far just kinda drags, but hopefully the material later on becomes challenging enough so that our asses get kicked.

linguistics 130: comparative and historical linguistics, professor gary holland.
this man is such a little kid in how he teaches, it's insane. he has some interesting ways of soliciting information and responses from his students -- we studied old english and gothic on the first day of class -- so of course, it's very eye-opening when the things he's talking about i grew up learning in tagalog.

statistics 25: introduction to probability theory and statistics for engineering, professor bas kleijn.
he has a great accent. and the math involved really is just practical math and is very much applicable to the field i'm in, so more power to this class. (i'm gonna gauge he's about thirty, but he dresses like a twenty-year old. it's awesome. he's, uh, hip.)

city and regional planning 115: urbanization in developing countries, professor ananya roy.
you know a lecturer is good when on the first day of class, when she's only describing "the spirit of the course," that everyone applauds and wants to stay in. when i'm glued to her speaking instead of my usual routine of doing the daily cal crossword, you know she's a good teacher.

journalism 98: directed group study in journalism, heuristic squelch.
stay tuned for this one. the heuristic squelch may find me on its staff later this semester. (especially awesome since i'll be the import from hardboiled.)

band's just fine.

and yay spending $550 on books and readers! (i have just guaranteed my being in debt at least until i turn thirty-five.)

woop-de-woop, eighteen months.

posted by Open Source Food @ 11:26 AM 0 comments